Michael Jackson's This is It

***1/2 Stars

What a wonderful surprise of a movie this is. The final curtain call of Michael Jackson’s career is a celebratory one. This is It is a simple and exuberant celebration of the spirit of one of this country’s most talented musicians. Even at the age of 50, the man can still bring it. Creator Kenny Ortega gives the fans and the world a glimpse of the man everyone knows, in ways no one’s ever seen before.

Paranormal Activity

***1/2 Stars

Finally, a true horror movie worth seeing. Paranormal Activity is an ingenious work of terror shot for under $15,000 back in 2007 by amateur filmmaker Oren Peli. Internet buzz and the sensation of amazing critical reviews allowed the film to become the #1 film in America this weekend with $22 million, making this one of my favorite pieces of box-office news all year. Not only is this film worthy of being #1, but it made Saw VI bomb with $14 million. Oh happy days.

For me, horror films today are too cheesy, bloody, and quantitative (hence my glee over Saw VI's underachievement in ticket sales). This is why I am so glad to see a film like Paranormal Activity achieve success critically and commercially. Starring two unknown actors named Micah Sloat and Katie Featherston, the movie is an 86 minute exercise of a young couple being terrorized by paranormal activity in their new suburban home. The film becomes increasingly horrifying as each act heightens the couple's fears. It begins small: Doors move on their own, loud bangs are heard, and an unexplained force begins to drive the couple to insanity. The movie is all build up to an ending that literally had me gasping for air.

Goosebumps are unavoidable, paranoia will ensue, and if you're seeing Paranormal Activity in a theater (which you should), expect the screaming of numerous individuals. Think Blair Witch set in your house, but with a much stronger this-could-be-real vibe. Whether or not you believe the film's stunts, it's an excitingly worthy addition to the horror genre. Paranormal Activity is not about plot, story, or violence, but rather a technique in displaying the scariest ways to frighten a moviegoer. Using this as its goal, the film succeeds, considerably.

Where the Wild Things Are

**** Stars

Where the Wild Things Are is extraordinary. Coming dangerously close to perfection, writer and director Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) has created a masterful adaptation of Marice Sendak's classic tale about a kid leaving home to let out his wild side. This weekend marks a profound victory for the moviegoers of America. They have chosen Where the Wild Things Are as their #1 movie. After pulling in $11.9 million on Friday, expectations for the film's weekend total is now pushing $40 million. Perhaps now is the time for people to stop making remarks that Jonze's new film is "too dark" for children.

First off, what does that even mean? There is no foul language, no realistic violence, and not a single moment where a parent has to shield their child's eyes. Actually, I'd find it more appropriate if it was the other way around. For nearly a half a decade, Jonze set out to make a film made for the nine-year old in everyone, not strictly just for nine-year olds. There is a big difference. Most "children movies" are dumbed-down to the point of insulting. This time, we have received a gift from on high. I can't recall the last time a movie literally had me in tears long after it was over. It may be sad, but it’s also uplifting. Movies like this are the reason why I still write reviews. That's how much this film has affected me.

The story is all adventure. It follows a young boy named Max (Max Records) and his journey to a magical world. After a snowball fight gone bad with his sister's friends (one of them steps on his fort, hurting Max in the process), Max runs up to her room and trashes it. That night, his mother Connie (Catherine Keener) has her boyfriend over (played by Mark Ruffalo) and Max gets upset because she won't play with him. He disobeys his mother's wishes for him to quiet down, bites her, and storms out of the house running faster than he ever has in his entire life.

He heads to the sea and stumbles upon an abandoned sail boat. He hits the open water and sails to an island inhabited by seven monsters called the Wild Things, who instantly crown Max the king after he tells them stories about his adventures and magical powers. The creatures, poetically played by is actors (most notably James Gandolfini in one of his best film roles ever), are also phenomenal technological achievements. Jonze had his actors wear costumes that would eventually be completed with CGI faces. The effects are so amazing that you can't tell what's real and what's not. That means CGI has done its job. And because this island is in Max's imagination, these creatures aren't necessarily supposed to feel welcoming. Surrounded by mostly creatures for the entire film, Max Records (The Brothers Bloom) does a wonderful job here portraying one of the most popular child characters in children's literature.

Where the Wild Things Are is something I've never seen before. Here is one of America's most innovative auteurs crafting a children's book that only has ten sentences and a handful of pictures, yet somehow a film emerges that expresses more honesty and perception about being a child than any other sugarcoated tale ever made. Finally, there is a film out there that treats children like people, and not the other way around. For any parent out there who believes Where the Wild Things Are is too dark for their child, you are wrong. We were all children once, and after viewing this masterpiece, not only will you remember what it was like, but you will truly feel it. There is a nine-year old inside of all us, and I hope that will never change.

Zombieland

***1/2 Stars

Zombieland is a kick-ass thrill ride. It only lasts 81 minutes, but I promise you'll get your money's worth. In fact, it might be the best zombie movie ever. And this is coming from someone who has never fully embraced the genre. I never really got the point. How much substance can you really do when your antagonist is a creature who runs around like their on fire trying to eat humans for sustenance? Well, luckily Zombieland embraces this formula and gets mostly everything right. Starring Woody Harrelson in top form, he plays Tallahassee, a survivor of a zombie epidemic that has nearly wiped out human civilization. He collides with a young man named Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) after meeting on an abandoned highway. Fitting comfortably in the Michael Cera role, Eisenberg wonderfully conveys an awkward energy that Harrelson eats right up.

The premise is simple enough. Zombies try to infect you, so you try to kill them before they do. The film begins with Columbus explaining the rules of how to survive in zombieland. There's a hilarious sequence with Eisenberg defending himself from a fat zombie by following one of the rules called "Good Cardio." While at a gas station, the zombie attacks him, so he runs around in circles until the zombie gets tired, giving him time to fire a shotgun round right into it.

When Tallahassee and Columbus entering a store for supplies, they meet up with two sisters named Wichita (Superbad's Emma Stone) and Little Rock (critical darling Abigail Breslin) surviving the epidemic just like them. Events collide that force the four to work together. Your looking at a perfectly cast movie here that delivers the zombie thrills and kills you're craving for.

The reason why Zombieland works is because it avoids everything that's wrong with those "serious" zombie movies. Whether George A. Romero wants to hear it or not, zombies are and always will be, funny. To me, they have never been a legitimate villain, but rather just a pond for comedic scenes. Zombieland never gets serious on a universal scale, not one line of dialogue discusses the idea of a cure, and it centers all of its attention on its four stars. Featuring one of the best cameos ever, Zombieland may lack in substance, but it makes up for it by ignoring substance all together.

A Serious Man

***1/2 Stars

The Coen Brothers are out of their minds. A Serious Man is darker than dark, blacker than black, and convoluted to the point of incoherency. It's a wild and crazy ride that will leave you shaking your head.

Everything I just said in the paragraph above is a compliment. A compliment to the Coen's inner genius and the outer realm it lives in. For three straight years, they have given us fantastic moviemaking. No Country for Old Men is one of their finest films, Burn After Reading was heaven's of fun, and now A Serious Man, their most personal film to date. It's a glimpse in the life of two of Hollywood's strongest filmmakers. Starring Michael Stuhlbarg as Larry Gopnik in a star making performance, A Serious Man could be described as the Jewish American Beauty. It is both a social commentary and autobiography about a teacher whose life starts spiraling out of control. His wants a divorce, his brother is living off him, his tenure is in jeopardy, and his kids aren't exactly ideal students. "I've always tried to be a serious man," says Larry Gopnik. Try to ponder this statement after viewing the film's ending, one that literally shakes its characters into a physical and metaphorical state of gothic phantasm. You, the viewer of this brilliantly offbeat film, will also be shaken.

Capitalism: A Love Story

**** Stars

Michael Moore has been one of the most fascinating filmmakers of the 21st century. His passion is so strong and universally known that his reputation almost precedes the actual topics his films cover. For example, there is a scene in his latest documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story, where he calls a company for an interview and is hung up on the second he mentions his name. He also tried to get Hank Paulson (CEO of Goldsman Sachs and Secretary of Treasury under the Bush administration) on the phone, but failed. Why are people afraid of him? Are they hiding something? Or do they think he's a joke?

Let me say this, if you think this man is a joke, you are wrong. Disagree with him all you want, but at least be mature enough to listen to him. He wants to hear your thoughts too, because Capitalism: A Love Story is Moore's urgent and desperate plea for the American people to start paying attention to who is taking their money. When 1% of the country is richer than the lower 95% combined, something somewhere has to be going wrong.

For Moore, the problems began with the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan. The first act of A Love Story has Moore pouncing all over the man in charge during the 1980's. After comparing America to the Roman Empire, Moore paints a portrait of Reagan being the "image" of America. He was the leader of leaders. Well, at least he looked like one. During and after the Reagan administration, the rich kept getting richer and the poor kept getting poorer. It explains the whole 1% of the country owning the lower 95% thing.

As much as that's 100% immoral, there's more to Capitalism: A Love Story than just statistics. Like all of Moore's movies, the most powerful moments come from real people dealing with real issues. There is a segment in this film that profoundly scares me. Disturbs me. DISGUSTS ME. As a 21-year old, I still consider myself young at heart. So when this country puts teenagers in jail for things including smoking marijuana (which is now decriminalized in many states) throwing a piece of steak at a dinner table, and putting up something mean on MySpace, I believe the morality of those who allowed this should be brought to justice. Thankfully, the judge who made these verdicts got his comeuppance, but it doesn't change the fact that he was paid off to do this. Is that the American Dream? To isolate the youth instead of rehabilitating them?

I have this ongoing habit of asking questions in my reviews of politically charged films. Why? Because it's important. It's important to question things. Which is exactly what Michael Moore is trying to say in his riveting documentary. When I interviewed him about this film, Moore told me that so many people have sent him footage of their experiences with the economic crisis that he has enough material to make twenty films. It must be a bittersweet feeling for the passionate filmmaker. He has all the evidence he needs to make his case twenty times over, and while he has become extremely successful with his films, I'm sure he'd be just as happy if he never had to make a documentary about America again. Moore is in his prime with Capitalism: A Love Story, a hilarious and powerful experience you will never forget.

To read my interview with Michael Moore, click here.